Toddler swimming lessons

Swimming! A popular summer activity for sure, but also a fun activity in the nippy-sometimes-stormy -ber months (very Filipino reference for months that end with ‘ber’), who would’ve thought.

J has been bugging me about swimming lessons for Akira, and it took me a while to pursue any leads since it wasn’t exactly the right season for it.

It took the kind invitation of the mom of Akira’s classmate to join them one Friday after the children’s class to try out their swimming place as well. The place was rather far – all the way in Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig – but the fee seemed reasonable and the place sounded impressive. It was an indoor pool and the water is heated. It’s not like they were the main selling points, but hey, these kinds of classes would need me to get into the water with Akira, too. Might as well be comfy!

Funny, but a friend and I have been talking about this place, and we’ve been wanting to check it out for a lazy swimming day that’s not far out, and it turns out that I’ll be in this very same place every Friday for a month. Hehehe.

To date, we have had our third swimming lesson, but I have yet to try any of the spa facilities. Hope I can comment on them in the near future. For now though, I can say that the venue in general is pretty clean, even if it seems that it has seen better days.

Sorry there’s not a lot of photos. They don’t allow picture-taking in the spa/pool area. The locker room/shower/changing area is huge but the lockers, not so. It also sucks that once you get your locker key you can only go barefoot or use their slippers. I have issues with both non-options.

This area leads directly to the pool area.

We’ve only tried the kids’ pool and the olympic sized pool for the children’s lessons, and I must say, dipping into the warm pool water after the requisite brisk shower is sooo nice. In the kids’ pool, when we’re having lessons we don’t get the pool strictly to ourselves, but when people notice that we’re actually having lessons they tend to transfer elsewhere, which is great. In the lap pool, the water is around 2 degrees cooler, and there tends to be other bigger students also having lessons, but it’s very big for sharing.

Ace Water Spa is also strict with swimming attire – only spandex swimsuits and rash guards are allowed, and swimming caps are a must. I’ve bought a swimming cap for Akira so she doesn’t have to use the free one they lend out. Might as well buy one and a pair of goggles, too, at least with lessons you know you’ll be using them often.

Bert Lozada Swim School

The Bert Lozada Swim School in Ace Water Spa is located in Basement 1, accessible through the side stairs beside the elevator.

Enrollment was pretty easy, but first, schedule a trial class. The teacher still needs to assess the readiness of the child. Our trial class went great – I was pretty surprised at the things Akira was willing to do on a first try, such as looking face down in the water, and holding breaths in the water.

I attribute this enthusiasm and eagerness to two things: the presence of a friend and a teacher that knows her way with children. This would have been a very different scenario if it were a one-on-one class. But with Akira’s friend, she has somebody to look up to. She is more willing to try things because she can see her friend do them. Her friend, funny enough, really embraced the big sister role too, eager to show Akira what to do. I couldn’t have asked for a better set-up 🙂

Their teacher, teacher Nadia, is fantastic with kids. Although I understand she has adjusted the classes to make them more like play at the request of a parent, she is gentle with the children and always has good energy. Sometimes she’d cap off the class with a round of Ring Around the Rosy to get the kids comfy getting their heads in the water.

Since I’m also already in the water,s he constantly talks to me too, telling me the rationale behind a certain activity, and telling me what Akira is doing well so we can encourage it further.

We’re really happy with our lessons here, and I hope J can accompany Akira one time too, so he can see for himself how everything goes.

Enrollment Details

We just got the same package Akira’s classmate got, which is an every Friday, 2 pm class. For 10 classes, it’s P5,500. P500 goes to Ace Water Spa. This is the My Baby & Me class. Click on Bert Lozada Swim School for more details.